Synopsis
Iron Man (1968 series) #174 synopsis by
T Vernon
Rating:
Obadiah Stane, new owner of Stark International, demands that Iron Man remove and hand over the armor which is company property. James Rhodes refuses and flies off, crashing through Stane's window. Mrs. Arbogast then tenders her resignation as well....
In a SHIELD Helicarrier high above, Nick Fury is informed of Stane's takeover of Stark and calls Jasper Sitwell....
Rhodey, as Iron Man, stops by Tony Stark's private lab to collect some personal items; he is attacked by the Knight, one of Stane's living Chessmen. Realizing the Knight is there to prevent him from removing other Iron Man armors, Shellhead takes on the villain but finds his opponent too swift and powerful for him, so he jets off to get advice from Morley Erwin. Two Stark employees see him flee and decide that maybe Stane won't be so bad a boss....
Mrs Arbogast scolds Vic Martinelli for remaining with the company but Vic has too few options and must stay with Stane....
As Stane's men try to defeat the lock on the lab, Nick Fury dispatches Jasper Sitwell with Weapon S, a photon disruptor, to get the armors first. Yvette Avril resigns from the company. And what of Tony Stark? He's in an unfamiliar place, sinking into despair....
Morley Erwin has Iron Man take the mechanical mole to burrow into the lab from beneath. Iron Man reaches the lab just as Stane's men open the door and the Knight flies in. Then Weapon S causes a blackout in the area so Shellhead and his foe battle in darkness. Rhodey radios Erwin to go to the backup plan, triggering the remote control units to allow the armors to fly away by themselves. Weapon S burns itself out, Fury dispatches agents to retrieve the armors wherever they come down. Iron Man burns the plans for the armors to keep the Knight from taking them to Stane. Shellhead wrecks the Knight's lance and horse and, the sides now being equal, he punches out his opponent. He drops the unconscious Knight on Stane's desk and departs....
Rhodey is contacted by Nick Fury who informs him that the armors went down in international waters—where SHIELD can legally claim them; Iron Man vows that is not going to happen....